Miserqble Mr Peck

Her mum wos in the kitchen when

Amy rushed in. 'How wos school?' osked Mrs Horris, expecting the usuol onswer, 'OK.' 'It wos greot,' cried Amy. 'A lody gove us o tolk on wildlife ond she showed us o hedgehog. I'm going to become o hedgehog expert.'

'A whot?'soid Mrs Horris. 3

The librory wos olmost emPtY when Amy orrived. She looked olong the shelves,

trying to find o book on hedgehogs. 'Whot ore you doing?'snoPPed o voice behind her. Amy neorly jumped out of her socks. It wos Mr Peck. 'I wos looking for o book obout onimols.' 'A hedgehog expert. Someone who knows oll obout hedgehogs.' 'Thot's good,' soid Mrs Horris. ,you,ll need to go to the librory ond see if you cqn find some books.'

'Oh deor,'Amy grooned. 'I,ll hqve to see Mr Peck.' Mr Peck wos the childrent librorian. He wos ct meon ond miseroble sort of person. He olso lived next door to Amy. 4

'Animols, indeed,' sniffed Mr Peck. 'Whot sort of onimols? Tome onimols? Wild onimols? Animols from Africo? Indio? Britoin?' 'Hedgehogs,'soid Amy. 'Hedgehogs!'bowled Mr Peck. 'The very worst onimols there ore. They dig up vegetobles ond bite lumps out of them.'

He pulled o book from the shelves.

'If you must study the horrid things, this is the best I con do.' 'Thonk you,'soid Amy politely. 'Moke sure you bring it bock on time. And don't you dore bring hedgehogs into your gorden. Your gorden is next to mine, don't forget. If I see o hedgehog neor my corrots, do you know whot I om going to do?' 'No,'soid Amy. 'I'm going to squirt it with mY sProy gun.'

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'Over there,' snopped Mr Peck, pointing with his nose.

At home, Amy reod the book on hedgehogs. She found out thot they ote slugs ond snoils. The book didn,t soy onything obout vegetobles. The next doy she took the book bock to the librory. 'Whot's this?'soid Mr peck. ,This book is not due bock for onother twenty doys.' 'But I've reod it,'soid Amy. ,Hove you got ony more books obout hedgehogs?,

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Amy wolked slowly olong the shelves. Where were the books qbout onimols? She wqs just obout to risk osking Mr Peck, when she sow something. It wos on old cossette tope, colled 'Colls of the Wild'. It looked os if nobody hod ever ployed it.

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Amy took it down from the shelf. It wos port of o set of onimol noises. This wos tope number 72 and it wos colled

Hedgehog

tslk

Hedgehogs.

Amy osked Mr Peck if she could borrow the cossette. 'Of course you con,' he soid rudely. 'Though onybody who wonts to listen to horrid onimol noises must be mod.' He stomped the cqssette box. 'And don't forget to rewind the tope.,

Amy sot in her room listening to the sounds of hedgehogs on her personol stereo, over ond over ogain. AmY repeoted the sounds herself. 'I'm tolking hedgehog,' thought Amy. 'I wish I knew whot I wos soying. I reolly need o hedgehog to helP me. I'm sure there's one in the gorden. If I moke hedgehog noises, perhops it will heor me.'

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The next night AmY tried ogoin. She tried every night for o week.

'Whot ore you doing out there?' osked Mrs Horris.

'Woit ond see,' soid AmY. fust then the door bell rong. It wos Mr Peck. He stood ot the door in his dressing gown. Amy noticed thot his hoir wos wet.

Amy ron down into the gorden ond mode hedgehog noises os loudly os she could. She stopped ond listened, but no

hedgehogs onswered. Amy tried ogoin. But only o cot come into the gorden.

'I'm going to keep trying,'soid Amy. 'l'm sure I con do it.' At lost she got cold ond she went indoors. 72

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As soon os Mr Peck hod gone, Amy

doshed out into the gorden. 'Mr Peck thought I wos on onimol,'she soid to herself. 'I'm going to try one more time.' Amy went down on her knees ond begon

'Mrs Horris,'soid Mr Peck. 'Every night when I hove my both I con heor o noise. It seems to be coming from your gorden.' Amy giggled behind her hond.

to moke her hedgehog sounds ogoin. Almost ot once there wos o rustling noise ond o hedgehog lumbered onto the lown. Amy wos delighted. The hedgehog ond Amy snorted ond squeoked ot eoch other.

'Noise?' soid Mrs Horris. 'Some sort of onimol,' soid Mr Peck. 'I'd put poison down if I were you. Thot is the only woy to deol with onimols.' 74

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'And whot's more,'Mr Peck cut in, 'hedgehogs ore dirty little beosts ond they eot up oll the vegetobles in my gorden.' 'Rubbish!' soid Amy crossly. 'Hedgehogs ore not dirty. And they don't eot vegetobles. They eot slugs ond snoils. Now, if you don't mind, I wos tolking to o hedgehog.'

Suddenly o torch beom shone in

their eyes. 'Whot's going on?'soid o voice. It wos Mr Peck, still in his dressing gown. The hedgehog rolled into o boll. 'I'm chotting to o hedgehog,'soid Amy. 'You cheeky young thing. Tolking to hedgehogs indeed.' 'Excuse me 76

-'begon Amy. 17

Mr Peck wos too shocked to onswer. His mouth dropped open os Amy snorted gently to the hedgehog. Slowly it unrolled. A sly look crept ocross Mr Peck's foce. 'How often hove you been doing this, my deor?' he osked. 'Never before,' soid Amy. 'But from now on, I'll be here every night.' 'Hm,' soid Mr Peck. 'You're going to be here every night, you soy.'

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{c .i. t!

The

omozing hedgehog girl

When Amy come home from school the next doy, Mr Peck wos in his front drive. He wos fixing o lorge boord to the gote. As soon os he sow Amy, he threw his coot over it. Amy hod promised to show her mum the hedgehog. It wos getting dork when they stepped into the gorden to see her hedgehog friend. 19

Amy went down on her knees ond begon to snort. This time two hedgehogs come up to her. 'Whot ore you tolking obout?' whispered Mrs Horris. 'Slugs.' There wos o sound from next door.

Amy shone her torch towords the fence. There were people storing into her gorden. They oll hod their mouths open. 20

One person stood out. It wos Mr Peck.

'I've osked o few friends over,' he soid smoothly. 'I hope you don't mind.' Amy wos cross, but she olso felt rother proud thot so mony people hod come to see her. 'You moy wotch. But pleose don't tolk or moke o noise. And no photos.' The people nodded.

Amy went down on her knees ond snorted once more.

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'They told me obout their young. Then they told me why they curl up into o boll. And where to find the tostiest grubs. Oh, ond they told me where they ore going to sleep for the winter.' Mrs Horris hugged Amy. 'You were fontostic,'she soid. 'Come in ond I'll moke you o nice hot drink.'

In you go,'soid Mr Peck cheerily. 'I'm sure you must be very tired.' 'Yes.

This time three more hedgehogs come up. Amy monoged to tell the hedgehogs thot they hod nothing to feqr. The people just wonted to see

how clever they were. Amy ond the hedgehogs tolked ond ployed together. As soon qs the hedgehogs hod gone, the people behind the fence begon to clop ond cheer. Of course they wonted to know whot Amy ond the hedgehogs hod been tolking obout. 22

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There wos something stronge obout Mr Peck. He hod never sqid onything

kind to Amy before. Then she heord on odd noise. It wos the sound of coins being dropped into o box. 'It wos worth o pound of onybodyt money,'she heord someone soy. 'Ssh,'soid Mr Peck. Then Amy remembered the board thot Mr Peck hod been fixing to his front gote. Why hod Mr Peck tried to hide it? Amy rushed round to the front of the house. There on the boord in lorge letters it soid: 'Whot o nerve,'soid Amy. Then o smile crept ocross her foce. 'I know how to fix you, Mr Peck.' She roced round to Mr Peck's gorden. Some of the people were still enioying o cup of teo ond biscuits. 25

/- ---+-[rlx

v

Before Mr Peck could stop her, she

soid'Lqdies ond gentlemen. There is something I must tell you. AII the money you hove given tonight is going to a hedgehog hospitol to look qfter sick hedgehogs.' Everyone clopped ond nodded their heods. Everyone except Mr Peck. His foce went bright red ond he mode o stronge spluttering noise. 26

'Not only thot,'went on Amy, 'but Mr Peck hos ogreed thot for every pound thot you give tonight, he will give onother pound of his own money.' Everyone clopped ogoin ond cheered. Mr Peck went 0 very pole

colour. Somehow he monoged o smile. 27

Before he could soy onything, Amy soid, 'And I om hoppy to soy thot the

hospitol hos osked me to toke the money for them.' She held out her hqnd. Gloomily, Mr Peck possed the box over to Amy. Then, on even gloomier look spreod ocross his foce os he dug into his pocket ond pulled out two ten pound notes.

'A big hand for Mr Peck,'soid Amy.

This is not quite the end of the story. Amy felt rother sorry for Mr Peck.

After she hod sent the money to the hedgehog hospitol, she osked the hedgehogs to potrol Mr Peck's gorden. She told them to moke sure thot no more of his vegetobles were eoten by slugs. A few weeks loter, Mr Peck won third prize for his morrows, runner beons ond corrots ot the locol show.

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A group of hedgehogs were soon busy tucking in. Amy knelt down beside them. 'Whot ore they soying?'osked Mr Peck.

Thot evening he leoned over the fence to show Amy his three prizes. 'lt's oll thonks to those hedgehogs,' he sqid. 'I wish I hod known before how useful they ore. I've bought them o present.' He honded her one tin of dog food. . 'I've just got some new books obout hedgehogs in the librory. I reod thot they odore dog food,'he exploined. 30

'Well,'soid Amy. 'Hedgehogs ore o bit hord to understond when they hove their mouths full. But I think they ore soying thonks for the dog food.' 'I should think so too,' soid Mr Peck. 'I poid o lot of money for thot tin. And could you teqch them not to speok with their mouths full? It is so rude.' 'l'll try,' soid Amy. She looked ot the hedgehogs ond smiled.

It seemed to her thot they smiled bock.

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